The McLeod Tool is primarily used in the Forestry Service.  It features a 3/16" plate steel head that has been cut to form deep teeth.  The handle is our standard heavy duty tubing with a 1.25" OD and 0.9"ID for maximum strength to weight.  The head is attached to the fiberglass handle with two (2) spring pins to allow for field replacement.  The back edge is sharpened at an angle that results in a durable edge.  It is an excellent tool for clearing undergrowth, leaves and debris.  The head can be rotated to expose the sharpened edge for light chopping and cutting.  (This tool is also excellent in the garden.)

The fire flapper is constructed using our standard, heavy-duty fiberglass handle, a steel head assembly, and an extra thick, reinforced rubber flap.  The flap is bolted to the head for field replacement capabilities.  Additionally, the head is connected to the handle using two (2) spring pins.  The name can be a little misleading as to how the flapper is used.  Rather than actually "flap" the tool, it is drug over and pushed into the fire to smother it.  This is a very popular tool for fighting grass fires. 

When the fire is deep into the undergrowth, this rake will help clear the way.  The serrated teeth make short work for the tangled vines and vegetation.  The teeth are individually bolted to the frame for easy field replacement.  The frame is steel for maximum strength.  Our heavy duty handle is secured to the frame by spring pins so it can be field replaced as well.  This is the sharpest rake on the market.

POLE DESCRIPTION

Not all fiberglass poles are created equal.  When we were doing our research of fiberglass products to create our pike pole line, we discovered that there are many variables involved.  Consequently, it appeared that most of the competitive products used "stock" shapes and compositions.  We chose to engineer the pole for the product.

Shape was our first consideration.  We chose not to use any type of "beam" design since the rigidity changes depending on the orientation of the cross section.  A round pole was the obvious choice to maintain consistent strength regardless of orientation.  A solid round shape was then considered.  The problem with a solid is the additional weight and cost, especially since most of the strength comes form the outer portion of the pole and the material in the center and more weight the strength.  That left a hollow tube as the most viable option.

Most of the poles we have seen over the years that use a round tube are decent products.  The are relatively strong and the customers like the feel of them.  We discovered that the "off the shelf" poles used were generally 1.25" in diameter with a 1" hollow center.  This certainly resulted in a light tool with good strength, but handles were still breaking in the field.  An improvement was needed.

We chose to keep the fairly standard 1.25" outside diameter since it works well with existing tool brackets and other mounting systems.  To increase the strength, the wall thickness was increased by reducing the size of the hollow center to .9".  It may not sound like much, but the wall thickness changed form .125 to.175, a nearly 30% increase.  The drawing gives a visual indication of the impact such a minor change can have.  The greatly increased the strength without adding too much additional weight.

Further changes were make to the composition of the FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) material by the addition of UV stabilizers to mitigate damage from the sun light.  Fire retardants were added to the compound for obvious reasons.

Since this tube in at the heart of man of our products, we wanted to make sure it was reliable enough to carry our name.  After testing the samples, we are very pleased.  We think you will be too.